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In an unusual move, Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam group, recently issued a statement about a company that is well known in the SEO community, Traffic Power (aka 1P.com). Mr. Cutts states that the company is possibly being underhanded with their SEO practices; practices that may get their clients banned form Google. This statement is unusual for two reasons. First, it was posted on Matt Cutts’ well read blog, which he has been careful to keep seperated from his official standing with Google. Second, it is against an entire SEO company.

This company is one of many that Google has attempted to warn business owners about. The reason we have not warned anyone via the newsletter before is that Traffic Power has been very aggressive in their litigation against anyone who says anything bad, be it true or untrue, about their company. Despite these law suits, many people have complained to the Better Business Bureau, which currently has 109 complaints on record. One complaint even made it into the Wall Street Journal as a cautionary tale.

We have singalled out Traffic Power, but they are by no means the only company that practices such "black hat" tactics. The Seattle Times has story about another company that guaranteed results, and delivered them for a short time, but in the long run managed to get client sites banned from Google. Let’s learn from the actions of such firms.

Some things to watch our for are:

• Promised Rankings - If a company guarantees that your site will be in the top 10 or 20, they most likely are not following the Google Terms of Service.
• No Explanations - If a company will not explain what they are doing or why they are doing it, they most likely are hiding something. Don’t expect to get trade secrets, but they should be able to give you at least an idea of their strategies.
• Cold Calling - If an SEO company contacts you without you asking for the appropriate contact within your organization, take this as a warning sign that they may not be legitemant.
• Content Renting - If the company sells or leases content that you must keep paying for, its not good content. Having to pay a monthly or yearly fee for the content on your site is a waste of money. This puts you in a spot where if you stop paying them, the content leaves. This can be an expenive way to get higher ranking. It would be better to write it yourself or find a company that will sell it to you outright.
• Browser Bar Keywords - If a company wants to sell you the ability to type a keyword into the browser navigation bar and have your site come up, don’t buy into it. They will tell you that if anyone types the keyword in they will find your site. This is true only if those people have bought the same software that you have; it is not a feature of the web or installed in browsers.

If any of these things happen to you, or you are contacted by an SEO company besides the one you are currently dealing with, call your trusted internet marketing advisers or current SEO company. It is important to note the Blizzard Internet Marketing follows the Google Terms of Services and Webmaster Guidelines. We will never promise you placement in the SERPs. We strive to place your site as high as possible using accepted practices. It is not possible to tell you where your site will be at any given time. Our main goal is to give you the highest possible return on your investment in your website and internet marketing.

 

Josh Green - Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc. 

 

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Categories: Featured Articles, SEM, SEO, Travel Marketing.
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